Prep Hoops: Danny Turner, Cedric Jones to coach at Freeport

FREEPORT — Freeport hired two new coaches to fill its two varsity basketball vacancies. Danny Turner will take over the boys basketball program, while Cedric Jones will be the new girls coach.

INSIDE: 10 years of records

Joey Baskerville

FREEPORT — Freeport hired two new coaches to fill its two varsity basketball vacancies.

Danny Turner will take over the boys basketball program, while Cedric Jones will be the new girls coach.

Both have extensive experience.

Turner has been a head coach for a combined five years, coaching at Joliet Township High School and Thornridge High School in Dolton. Collectively, he has 26 years of experience coaching boys and girls throughout the Chicagoland area.

“This will be the first time that I’ll be coaching and educating outside of the Chicago metropolitan area,” Turner said. “It’s a new culture for me, but I’m looking forward to the small-town atmosphere, mid-sized high school with a good following from the community.”

Jones has 25 years of coaching experience, including tenures as coach of the Rockford Christian and Rockford Christian Life boys basketball teams. He also had a nine-year stint coaching Division III North Central University in Minneapolis, Minn.

This will be the first time he will coach girls.

“I’m looking forward to working with the girls,” Jones said. “They want to work hard and listen and apply the things they’ve been taught.

“Boys are a little bit different than girls. Girls will apply what you’ve instructed them the first time through. It may take the boys three or four times because they want to do what they think is right the first time. But at the end of the day it’s basketball and we’re going to work hard to try and rebuild a tradition.”

Both the boys and girls programs have a storied tradition. The girls have been to state four times, finishing third in 1994 and ‘95 and as the state runner-up in 2008 and ‘09.

The boys program has won state three times and was coached by one of the most successful college coaches ever in Adolph Rupp. Rupp took third place in state in the 1928-29 season before eventually taking a job at the University of Kentucky in 1930.

“I know I’m going to have to change the culture a bit to getting back that winning attitude,” Turner said, “and everything will be predicated to instilling pride in these kids and getting them to understand the tradition.”

Freeport’s boys have averaged just over six wins in the NIC-10 over the last five years. The girls have had four consecutive losing seasons in the conference after averaging 14 wins during the Jackie Barton, Katie Norman, Suporia Dickens, Courtney Shiffer and Kelsey Hoefer days.